What do you think?
Rate this book
Surrounded on Three Sides
"A jaunty, outstandingly human, and highly successful satire on the habits and ways of professional promoters, on ‘progress’ in Florida. . . and a lot of other things."-- Chicago Tribune "A delightful discovery for the general reader of Florida fiction."—Les Standiford — from the book "That crazy bastard is famous! If he moves here—wherever he moves—it will be news. It will be on every wire service. It will be in every column. And just what will be the first public reaction?" . . .
"My god," Paul said, "You’re right."
"Paul, do you know how a resort area starts?"
A stricken Paul Higgins sat up and stared, hearing the shiny bulldozer. Escaping the cold, frantic world of New York public relations, Paul Higgins moves his family to rustic, undeveloped southwest Florida, where peace and quiet are assured. That is, until a celebrated author moves into the neighborhood and Higgins devises "the hard unsell," a series of ingenious and hilarious public relations efforts to discourage people from moving to Flat City and to scare off tourists, investors, and developers in the process.
Keasler’s 1958 novel is remarkable both for its humor and for its early portrayal of the dilemma of Florida growth, a theme later explored in depth by John D. MacDonald and elevated to satirical heights in Carl Hiaasen’s Tourist Season . Between the land boom and the explosive growth beginning in the sixties, Keasler captured in the figure of Paul Higgins the aspirations of millions who seek Florida as an escape and the fanatical opposition to development of those other millions who have already arrived and desperately want to close the door behind them.
Novelist and journalist John Keasler wrote nearly 7,000 humor columns during his 30-year career at the old Miami News , and he also covered the major historical events of the time, including Kennedy's assassination and Neil Armstrong's trip to the moon. Keasler died in Plant City in 1996, and was remembered by the Miami Herald as having left "a legacy of love for his home state."
"My god," Paul said, "You’re right."
"Paul, do you know how a resort area starts?"
A stricken Paul Higgins sat up and stared, hearing the shiny bulldozer. Escaping the cold, frantic world of New York public relations, Paul Higgins moves his family to rustic, undeveloped southwest Florida, where peace and quiet are assured. That is, until a celebrated author moves into the neighborhood and Higgins devises "the hard unsell," a series of ingenious and hilarious public relations efforts to discourage people from moving to Flat City and to scare off tourists, investors, and developers in the process.
Keasler’s 1958 novel is remarkable both for its humor and for its early portrayal of the dilemma of Florida growth, a theme later explored in depth by John D. MacDonald and elevated to satirical heights in Carl Hiaasen’s Tourist Season . Between the land boom and the explosive growth beginning in the sixties, Keasler captured in the figure of Paul Higgins the aspirations of millions who seek Florida as an escape and the fanatical opposition to development of those other millions who have already arrived and desperately want to close the door behind them.
Novelist and journalist John Keasler wrote nearly 7,000 humor columns during his 30-year career at the old Miami News , and he also covered the major historical events of the time, including Kennedy's assassination and Neil Armstrong's trip to the moon. Keasler died in Plant City in 1996, and was remembered by the Miami Herald as having left "a legacy of love for his home state."
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 1958
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 6, 2008
This is such a phenomenal book. The funny part is that while it was written 50 years ago, the problems and issues are still going on today. (Snowbirds. Pffft.) John Keasler has such a great voice in this work, so fresh and feisty and so unlike anything I'd ever imagine coming from the 1950s. Sarcastic and sassy and fabulous.
February 11, 2013
Interesting that Florida was being trashed in the fifties just like it is today.
May 7, 2013
Given that this book was written in 1958, the story still stands well on its own. It's still funny Florida with sarcasm at its best. Maybe this was an inspiration for Hiaasen or Barry.
March 8, 2026
A satirical delight from the longtime humor columnist of the Miami News. John Keasler cranked out five columns a week, but somehow found the time to produce this wonderful work of Florida fiction.
The book concerns Paul Higgins, a New York PR man who has just turned 45. He once had aspirations of becoming a writer-with-a-capital-W, but now he's too mired in his own misery to go back to that dream. He's been concerned with earning a living for his wife and two children. His wife senses his dissatisfaction and determines to do something about it. Her sister, who lives in Florida, strongly recommends they move to the Sunshine State, and soon they do.
They discover that their house is full of quirks (no opening for a front door, for instance, to discourage salesmen and unwanted visitors). So is their new home town of Flat City, which lies somewhere between Lake Okeechobee and the Gulf Coast. Yet they discover the pace of life has slowed to idyllic and the surroundings are the essence of beauty, so they go with the flow.
Meanwhile, though, a famous writer who lives further to the north, in Guava Springs, has become dissatisfied with his surroundings. Cliff Tipton, who has written THE big bestseller of the year, is starting to feel hemmed in by the "progress" now filling up Guava Springs like a bucket that's almost reached the tipping-over point. He's heard of Flat City and has decided he wants to move there.
Higgins, who is entertaining another PR man visiting from New York, meets Tipton and they chat amiably. After he leaves, though, the visiting PR man points out that if Tipton DOES move down to Flat City, life there will cease to be so peaceful. His public will follow, drawing lots of new residents, which will mean lots of developers roaring around building new homes. The town Higgins finds so heavenly will surely turn into hell. To defend his slice of paradise, Higgins and his PR buddy, Arthur, devise a series of schemes to discourage Tipton and everyone else from moving to Flat City. They call it "the big UN-sell."
We reach this point about halfway through the book, and this is when the novel -- which has been bouncing along nicely -- now switches to high gear. The local newspaper editor agrees to go along with their scheme for reasons of his own, which helps them immeasurably as they plant stories about malaria, mosquitoes, rattlesnakes and other hazards of the place.
Meanwhile, in a subplot, the newspaper's publisher, Harrington Space, has dispatched his ne'er-do-well son Jerry to do a reporting trip across the state. "You are going to become the authority on Florida!" the publisher says. "You will visit the factories, the hamlets, the shores. ... You will set out and learn this state like it has never been learned before. You, son, will grasp the concept of Florida!"
And Jerry asks, "What will I do with it?"
The hapless Jerry becomes the unwitting ally that Paul and Arthur need to spread the word about staying away from Flat City. They are aided in this, unwittingly, by Paul's 10-year-old son, who has collected hundreds of lizards and stashed them under the bed in Higgins' guest bedroom, where Jerry winds up spending the night. You can probably guess what happens.
The comic highlight of the novel comes when Jerry has another disturbing wildlife encounter and writes the wildest story he's ever produced, gets punched in the face and winds up in jail. I don't want to say anymore for fear of giving it away, but this leads to the ultimate twist in the plot as Higgins realizes you can't hide Florida like a light under a bushel.
The hilarity of this novel is marred by only one dated gag that I really wish the people who republished this book had edited out. It involves a minor character using the N-word while talking about nematodes and it ruined the genial mood that the story had created. That's why I took one star off my rating.
Otherwise, I highly recommend this book as a precursor to Carl Hiaasen, Dave Barry and Tim Dorsey. It was published in 1958, which means people have been worried about losing what's special about Florida for a long, loooonng time.
The book concerns Paul Higgins, a New York PR man who has just turned 45. He once had aspirations of becoming a writer-with-a-capital-W, but now he's too mired in his own misery to go back to that dream. He's been concerned with earning a living for his wife and two children. His wife senses his dissatisfaction and determines to do something about it. Her sister, who lives in Florida, strongly recommends they move to the Sunshine State, and soon they do.
They discover that their house is full of quirks (no opening for a front door, for instance, to discourage salesmen and unwanted visitors). So is their new home town of Flat City, which lies somewhere between Lake Okeechobee and the Gulf Coast. Yet they discover the pace of life has slowed to idyllic and the surroundings are the essence of beauty, so they go with the flow.
Meanwhile, though, a famous writer who lives further to the north, in Guava Springs, has become dissatisfied with his surroundings. Cliff Tipton, who has written THE big bestseller of the year, is starting to feel hemmed in by the "progress" now filling up Guava Springs like a bucket that's almost reached the tipping-over point. He's heard of Flat City and has decided he wants to move there.
Higgins, who is entertaining another PR man visiting from New York, meets Tipton and they chat amiably. After he leaves, though, the visiting PR man points out that if Tipton DOES move down to Flat City, life there will cease to be so peaceful. His public will follow, drawing lots of new residents, which will mean lots of developers roaring around building new homes. The town Higgins finds so heavenly will surely turn into hell. To defend his slice of paradise, Higgins and his PR buddy, Arthur, devise a series of schemes to discourage Tipton and everyone else from moving to Flat City. They call it "the big UN-sell."
We reach this point about halfway through the book, and this is when the novel -- which has been bouncing along nicely -- now switches to high gear. The local newspaper editor agrees to go along with their scheme for reasons of his own, which helps them immeasurably as they plant stories about malaria, mosquitoes, rattlesnakes and other hazards of the place.
Meanwhile, in a subplot, the newspaper's publisher, Harrington Space, has dispatched his ne'er-do-well son Jerry to do a reporting trip across the state. "You are going to become the authority on Florida!" the publisher says. "You will visit the factories, the hamlets, the shores. ... You will set out and learn this state like it has never been learned before. You, son, will grasp the concept of Florida!"
And Jerry asks, "What will I do with it?"
The hapless Jerry becomes the unwitting ally that Paul and Arthur need to spread the word about staying away from Flat City. They are aided in this, unwittingly, by Paul's 10-year-old son, who has collected hundreds of lizards and stashed them under the bed in Higgins' guest bedroom, where Jerry winds up spending the night. You can probably guess what happens.
The comic highlight of the novel comes when Jerry has another disturbing wildlife encounter and writes the wildest story he's ever produced, gets punched in the face and winds up in jail. I don't want to say anymore for fear of giving it away, but this leads to the ultimate twist in the plot as Higgins realizes you can't hide Florida like a light under a bushel.
The hilarity of this novel is marred by only one dated gag that I really wish the people who republished this book had edited out. It involves a minor character using the N-word while talking about nematodes and it ruined the genial mood that the story had created. That's why I took one star off my rating.
Otherwise, I highly recommend this book as a precursor to Carl Hiaasen, Dave Barry and Tim Dorsey. It was published in 1958, which means people have been worried about losing what's special about Florida for a long, loooonng time.
Read
January 8, 2025A romp (compliment)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews